Loom



nec. 1 i925- 1,5-639g0 F.` G. HULME 'LOOM Filed Aug. .1, 1925 Sheets-SheaI l INVEN TOR.

BY ATTORNEY F. G. HULME Dec l,

LOOM

F'iled Aug. l, 1925 2 Sheets-Shea?I 2 IN V EN TOR.

@6162762 acif/k/fzze) BY @MMA TToRNEY Panarea nee.. i, raza UNITED 4srA'riizs PATENT oFFmE.

Loon.

Application led August 1, 1925. Serial N0. 47,533.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDERIC G. HULME, a citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Tacony, Philadelphia, in the State of Penns 7lvania, have invented certain new and use ul Improvements in Looms, of which the following is a Specification.

This invention relates to improvements in looms for weaving curved fabrics, and particularly to looms of that type, such as ribbon looms, for weaving narrow Ware and employing conical tension or take-u rolls or the equivalent for governing the eed of the warp threads to give a curved form or curvilinear set to the Woven fabric. More particularly the invention relates to a loom for weaving a novel and improved spiral strip fabric of a kind specially adapted to be formed into flat circular rings of the type used as facings or liners for automobile friction clutches and the like. A fabric of this character such as produced by the loom construction in 'accordance with the present invention, and as hereinafter fully described, constitutes the subject-matter of my copending application executed of even date herewith, filed Aug. l, 1925, Serial No. 47,532.

As ordinarily made, a facing or liner of this character is cut out in annular form from a straight woven fabric, the ends of the annulus being brought to abut and joined by means of metallic staples, the flat facing ring thus formed being saturated vor impregnated with a lubricating and water-proofing composition. An-objection to this method of manufacture is that both edges of the ring are cut edges Which are more or less quickly frayed by wear to a sufficient extent to impair the eliciency of the clutch. Another objection to this method of manufacture is the `waste of material and general lack of strength, due to the fact that the Warps are sho-rt and disposed at oblique angles to the ring edges instead of extending parallel with the edges,

of the ring and from end to end thereof, and the picks instead of extending radially to the axis of the ring, are also disposed at oblique an les to the ring edges, the structure thus ein'g to"o Weak to withstand for any considerable period of time without disintegration the tensile stresses to which it is subjected by the action of the clutch.

objections by cutting the annulus from which the ring is to be formed out of specially Woven curved fabric, which must be stretched more or less into shape after the cutting action, with the result of securing a somewhat better disposition of the Warp and weft threads to secure greater strength, but without overcoming the other objections mentioned. Attempts have also been made to overcome the noted objections by weaving the cloth in a curved strip of the de- `sired widthhwith inner and outer selvaged edges, in Whlch the curved formation is obtained by passing the material as formed between conica-l take-up rollers operating to give the curved outline to the fabric. All prior weaving methods of this kind, however, with which li am familiar have been defective and fall short of the desired result, for the reason that the arrangement of the conical take-up roll with respect to the weaving mechanism, as well as the construction of the latter in all prior looms with which l am familiar and which'have been used for the purpose, has been such that a uniform tension of the war and pick Attempts have been made to overcome these threads could not be obtained, t e threads being bunched and Woven very compact and under hi h tension at the inner edge of the strip an looser and of progressively less tension toward the outer edge of the strip, resulting in the production of an imperfectly curved stri which must be mechanically shaped 1nto finally curved form after weaving and which is furthermore objectionable in that the stri is thicker and of maximum strength in t e region of its inner edge and relatively thinner and of materially less strength in the region of its outer edge. The weave of this'strip is also such that the picks extend more or less irregt ularly at oblique angles to the axis of a ring facing formed therefrom, thus reducing its strength in 'a transverse direction. A strip of this kind as Woven, therefore is not-of uniform tension, and hence not of uniform strength, is not fiat or of even thickness throughout, and must be mechanicall lfinished before being rendered servicea le for use. In mechanically finishing such a strip `it is saturated with the lubricating and waterproofing compound and then cut or planed down until it is of uniweakened by the cutting and frayin of its threads in order to reduce it to a at condition, reliance being placed upon the com.- pound with which 1t is saturated to keep the threads intact, as a result of which rings of this character have inherent weaknesses and lack durability `and efficiency. When such a facing is in use, the wear of the surfaces causes loosenin of the frayed yarns and slipping of the ob iquely disposed picks, producing lumpy formations particularly 1n the region of the outer edge of the facing and bindin or sticking of the clutch elements making the clutch jerky and' irregular in action.

One object of my present invention is to provide a loom for producing a spirally curved fabric strip which is so woven as to be uniformly flat from edge to edge and of uniform tensile strength throughout, which strip is capable of use for the production of asmooth-surfaced facing'ring or liner without subsequent treatment yof any kind which will im alri its strength and eiiciency, and which by reason of its. uniform tensile strength will be of maximum durability Another object of the invention is to provide a loom for producing a woven fabric strip in which the picks or weft threads willl be arranged in the completed ring at all oints radially to the axis of the ring, ensuring the firm retention of all the ring threads in proper relationship and a smooth working action of the ring and the avoidance of any tendency to displacement of the rillug threads liable-to impair the strength or e ciency of the rin Still another provide a loom for producing a spiral fabric which may be sold by the textile manufacturer to the automobile manufacturer or dealer as a stock strip of any given length or width, from which sections may be cut as required for the making -of clutch rin of a standard width and any standard diameter, and which operation of completin a ring may be performed, without stretchingk or othermechanical shaping, by simply bringing the ends of the cut out section in abutting relation and stapling or otherwise joining them together.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a loom having a novel construction and cooperative working arrangement ofv weaving and take-up mechanisms whereby a curved fabric designed for the purpose described and for such other purposes as it may be adapted may be rapidly and 'eco. nomically made.

rThe invention consists of the .features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fullyv described and iject of theV invention is toy :,teasmo 'claimed, referencebeing had to the accom panying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a vportion of a loom emJ bodymg my invention, lookin from the front toward the weaving and 'ta e-up mechanisms.

Fi re 2 is a vertical section on line 2--2 Figure 7 is a transverse section on line 7-7 of Figure 5. l

Referring now more particularly tothe drawings, in which I have shown only so much of the loom mechanism as is necessary for a complete disclosure of my inventin, l designates the vibratory batten or lay of the loom operated by suitable means, such as the crank mechanism 2, from a suitable part of the loom driving mechanism, and 3 is the reed carried by and movable with the hatten and detachably and adjustably mounted thereon for regulating the width and curve ofthe woven fabric, as hereinafter fully described.

The batten includes a beam 4 formed in its underside with a grooved guideway 5 for 4a reciprocating shuttle-actuating rack bar 6, suitably operated at proper time periods 4from the loom mechanism. VThe batten also carries shuttle blocks 7 provided with grooved guideways 8 for the shuttles 9, which blocks l7 are properly disposed to form the weaving-in spaces or passages 10 between adjacent blocks 7 across which the shuttles move back and forth, as in multiple ribbon looms, for carrying the filler or weft threads back and forth through the shed..

In accordance withmy invention the use of a breast beam and the usual guides for the fabric as woven is dispensed with, and the usual order of arrangement'of the rack bar which pinions enga e rack teeth 12- formed upon the upper sur aces instead ,of the bottom surfaces of the shuttles, whereby said yshuttles are actuated. This arrangement leaves the base of each passage 10 clear for thepositionng therein of-a take-up roll 13 and the arrangement for cooperation therewith of a press roll or tension roll 14, comfor a novel weaving Lacasse pleting with the parts ofthe weaving mechanism above described a novel organization action in the production of a curved fabric.

As shown, the take-up roll 13 is'of conical form and is mounted for rotation upon an axis 15 inclined tothe horizontal, and this roll is so placed that the upper surface of its periphery 16 is disposed in a horizontal plane, parallel with the plane of travel of the shuttles, and extends longitudinally across the bottom of the passage 10. lThe position of the surface 16 is also suclh that its vertical center, in the line of its axis 15, is loca-ted immediately below and coincident with the vertical plane of the weaving-in point, beating-in point or fell point of the fabric. The roll 14 is of a conical form conforming to that of the roll 13 and is mounted for rotation upon an axis 17 parallel with the axis 15 and so as to bear upon the inner face of the roll 13 belowthe plane of the shed space. In ractice the roll 14 is also suitably mounte for movement toward and from the roll 13 and, by' means of springs or weights, 'is made tobear with yielding pressure against the roll 13. Roll 13 is provided with a gear 18 meshine with a gear 19 on the driven take-up shaft 20, whereby said roll 13 is positively driven for a take-up action, the roll 14 being 'driven by frictional engagement with the roll 13 and an intervening portion of thev formed fabric `clamped between the surfaces thereof or by positive gearing 19', such as shown. From the beating-in or fell point against the up er surface of the periphery 16 of roll 13 t e completed cloth material 21 woven by the loom mechanism from the warp threads 22 and weft threads 23 passes in the form of a bight around the outside and underside of the roll 13, thence upwardly between and is gripped by the opposed'faces of the rolls 13 and 14 and thence over the top of the roll and down upon the inner side thereof. lThe cloth is thus woven'directly against the upper surface of the roll 13 and trained about and.

gripped by the rolls in such manner as to secure a positive take-up motion without slipping and so that the cloth will be held with a desired' tension at the weaving moment to secure the desired shaping and uniform tension weaving action as hereinafter described.

The warp threads 22,23 are drawn out and permitted to feed up under the action of the take-up roll in varying lengths or rates in proportion to the circu1nferen ce of the tapered roll 13 at a point where a given warp thread passes over the roll inthe fabric. Hence in the weaving and take-up actions the formed cloth will be given a curved contour or curvilinear set proportionate to the taper contour of the roll. the resultant fabric being in the shape of a continuous narrow iiat strip woven on spiral lines. For the purpose of enabling the width and curvature of this stripto be varied within given limits, the reed 3 is made 4detachable and also adjustable across the passage 10 and longitudinally of the upper face of the roll 13. To this end the reed ismounted at its upper end in a guideway 24 formed in the bat-ten and lies between one wall of said guideway and a clamping` strip 25, the ends of which extend at opposite sides beyond the limits of adjustment of the reed and are en- V forward and backward through the shed, f

and at the proper time periods the hatten and reed operate to perform the beating-in action. As the cloth is formed and drawn under tension laround the take-up roll it is given its curvilinear set. An important feature of my invention resides in the fact that, by means ofthe construction described, the batten and reed weave the threads directly against the face 16 of the roll 13 the highest point of which lies in a vertical plane which coincides with the weaving-in pointer fell point of the fabric. As this is done directly against the upper face of the roll 13 while the preceding woven portion of the fabric is held fast about the roller 13 and between the rollers 13 and 14, the subsequent vdrawing v out of the fabric about the take-up roll, each time a weaving-in action is performed, will result in an accurate shaping of the fabric in the exact curvilinear form desired against a shaping surface while the fabric drawn about that surface is stretched and held under high tension, and so that a closely woven cloth woven under uniform tension from edge to edge of the fabric will be produced. This follows further from the fact that as the vportion of the cloth between the fell point and the point at which the cloth is clamped between rolls 13-14 is very short, no material relaxation in the tension of the Warp threads due to the impact of the batten and reed at the lweaving moment can occur, such as to cause variations of tension between the warp threads of different length, and hence the fabric will be woven with a substantially uniform high tension from edge to edge thereof., rllherefore there will be an entire avoidance of close weaving under veryT high tension causing bunching of the threads at the short radius curve line 0f the fabric and progressively looser and lower tension Weaving between the same and\ the long radius curve line ofthe fabric, with a variation in density and thickness of the fabric, such as occurs in the weaving of narrow curved fabrics on all 4prior constructions of looms with lwhich I am familiar. While with my construction of loom the threads ma be, and preferably are, woven at fairly ihigh tension, an abnormal tension is not necessary inorder to produce acloth of great strength, since the weave is such as to produce a cloth in which vthe arrangement of the vthreads is such as to secure great strength and durability Without the necessity of making the tension abnormally high.

Figure 4 shows a lengt-h of a narrow curved fabric 26 produced by the loom. This fabric is spirally curved, on a determined line of curvature, conforming to the portion of the take-up roll fromwhich it is drawn and the position of the reed relative thereto. The diameter curve of the fabric produced, for the production of a facing of any given diameter, may be varied by varying the position of the reed to cooperate with portions of different diameters of the take-up roll, as previously described and as .will be readily understood. By the use of reeds of different widths, and proper adjustment of a reed of any given width with respect to the roll, a fabric of any given width and any given radius of curvature may be produced for the production of facing rings of diderent widths and diameters. A strip 26 of a given width and curvature may be -cut up as a stock strip from which flat facing rings 27 of the kind shown in Figure 5 may be made. This facing maybe roduced from the .strip section by simply ringing the ends of the strip section in abutting relation and uniting them by metallic staples 28. or other suitable fastening means. i This may be done without in any other manner previously shaping the fabric. A ring thus made when saturated with a lubricating an'd waterproofing substance or compound is ready for use. ring is made, as shown particularly in Figures 5, 6 and 7 is provided with selvaged inner and outer edges 29 and 30 and is formed of warp threads 22 extending from end to end of the fabric section and along and parallel with the selvaged edges thereof and concentric with the axis of the ring facing, and of weft threads or picks 23 which extend at right angles to the warp threads engaged thereby across the fabric and at all points radially to the axis of the ring facing. The threads of the ring facing are thus so arranged as to give great strength to the fabric land mutually reinforce each other .to withstand the .circumferential and radial stresses and strains' to which the fac- ;ng is subjected' in service operations. The

.for'the formation of individual rin The fabric of which this strength and` durability and capacity for Wear. In practice the take-up roll may be of such a degree of taper and diameter at any given point that the fabric strip produced will consist of asuccession of convo- .lutions of a given curvilinear len h and set and capable of being separated a ong transverse l1nes, as along lines -ain Fi ure 4, acin s therefrom, each section being suitab e for irectly making a ring facing by simply bringing its ends together and stapling or otherwise uniting such ends, as reviously described. Inasmnch as ring acings of different widths and diameters may be made from sections of such a fabric made of different widths and spiral curvatures, it will be evident that the material ma be sold to automobile manufacturers, dea ers, repairmen and others as stock material from which clutch facings or liners may be readily and conveniently made for use.

In the example illustrated I have shown a single ply fabric of plain weave, but it will,

of course, he understood that I do not limit myself to any particular Weave or to any particular number of plies of the fabric, as

many forms of weaves may be used and the fabrlc made of single ply or two or more plies, as desired.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim `1. In a loom,| a tapered take-up roll, and weaving mechanism operatin to form the weave irectly against a portion of the periphery of sald roll.

2. vIn a loom, a tapered take-u roll, a presser roll operative to hold a big t of the woven materlal about a portion of the eriphery of said take-up rol1,'and weaving mechanism operating to formthe-weaveJ directly against another.portion of the periphery of said take-up roll.

3. In a loom, a tapered take-up roll supported on an axis inclined to the horizontal and having the upper portion of its periphery `disposed in a horizontal plane, and weavin mechanism operating to form the weave irectly against the upper horizontal portion of the periphery 'of said roll. v

4. In a loom, a tapere take-u roll, and weaving mechanism mclu g a. atten and nsoaeeo a reed operating to form the weave at a point directly against a portion of the periphery of the roll, the roll and reed being relatively adjustable in a direction longitudinally of said roll.

5. ln a loom, a tapered take-up roll, a presser-roll operating to hold a bight of the woven material about a portion of the periphery of the take-up roll, and Weaving mechanism including a batten and a reed operating to form the Weave directly against another portion of the periphery of the take-up roll.

6. ln a loom, a tapered take-up roll supported on an axis inclined to the horizontal and having the upper portion of its periphery disposed in a horizontal plane, and weaving mechanism operating to form the weave -directly against the periphery of the roll at the highest point of the horizontal portion of the periphery of the roll.

7. lin a loom, a tapered take-up roll, a presser-roll operating to hold a bight of the woven material about a portion of the peripheryv ofthe take-up roll, and weaving mechanism including a hatten and a reed operating to form the weave directly against another portion of the periphery of the 'take-up roll, the roll and reed being relatively adjustable in a direction longitudinally of said roll.

8. in a loom, a tapered take-up roll, and Weaving mechanism including a hatten and a reed operating to form the weave above and in vertical alinement with the axis of the roll and directly against the periphery of the roll, the reed being adjustable on the hatten in a direction lengthwise of the periphery of the roll.

9. ln a loom, a tapered take-uproll supported so as to dispose a portion of itsv periphery in a horizontal plane parallel with and on one side ofthe weft feed line, and weaving mechanism including a batten and reed' having a working motion on a line at right'angles to and in a plane above the horizontal plane of the roll and operating to form the weave directly against the upper surface of the periphery of said roll.

10. in a loom, weaving mechanism including a batten and a reed, and a tapered y take-up roll supported on anaxis inclined to the horizontal and having the upper p0rtion of its periphery disposed in a horizontal plane longitudinally at right -angles to and below the plane of weaving-1n motion of the batten and reed, said batten and reed operating their beating-in motion to form the weave above the roll and in the vertical plane of its axisand directly against the horizontally disposed upper surface of the periphery of the roll.

11. In a loom, weaving mechanism including a batten and a reed, a tapered takeup roll supported on an axis inclined to the horizontal and having the upper portion of its periphery disposed in a horizontal plane longitudinally at right angles to and below the plane of weaving-in motion of the hatten and reed, said batten and reed operating on their beating-in motion to form the fell directly against the horizontally disposed upper portion of the periphery of the roll in a vertical plane coincident with its axis, and a conical yieldingly mounted presserroll disposed upon the relatively inner side of the take-up roll and .operative to hold a portion of the completed fabric 'against said side of the Atake-up roll.

l2. lin a loom, a hatten having a passage for the throw of the weft threads, a shuttle movable across said passage and provided with rack teeth, a rack bar disposed above said passage, pinions meshing with the teeth of the rack bar and shuttle, a reed carried by the batten and depending into said passage, a tapered take up roll supported so as to be disposed at the base of said passage at the weaving moment, said battenand reed operating on their weaving motion to form the weavel at a point in immediate proximity to the surface of said roll.

13. in a loom, a batteri having a passage for the throw of the weft threads, a shuttle movable across said passage and provided with rack teeth, a rack bar disposed above said passage, pinions meshing with the teeth of the rack bar and shuttle, a reed carried by the batten and depending into said passage, a tapered-take-up roll supported on an inclined axis and having the upperportion of its periphery arranged in a horiz'ntal plane, said roll being arranged so as to be disposed at the base of said passage at the weaving moment, said batten and reed operating on their Weaving motion to form the weave at a point in immediate proximity to the surface of said roll.

14. ln a loom, a batten having a passage for the throw of the weft threads, a shuttle movable across said passage and provided with rack teeth, a rack bar disposed above said passage, pinions meshing with the teeth of the rack bar and shuttle, a reed carried by the batten and depending into said passage, a tapered take up roll supported so as to be arranged at the base of said passage at the weaving moment, and a tapered yieldingly mounted presser-roll arranged upon the relatively inner side of the takeup roll, said batten and reed operatlng on their weaving motion toA form the weave at a point in immediate' proximity to7 the surface of said roll.

15. In a loom, weaving means, and a. takeup device having a `draw surface formed to imparta curvilinear set to the fabric, the weaving means being operatlve to form the weave in direct contact with a portlon of said draw surface of the take-up device.

shuttle and base of the 16. In a loom, a batteri havin -a pa e for the throw of the weft threa a shutt e movable across said passage, a reed carried by the batten and depending into said (passage, a tapered take up roll supporte so as to have the upper portion of its periphery dlsposed so as to lie in ,a horizontal plane at the base of said passage at the weavin moment, and shuttle drive gearin arrange on a line between the u per sur ace of the atten.

17. In a loom, a' batten having a passage for the throw of the weft threads, a shuttle movable across said passage, a reed carried by the batten and dependlinA therefrom into said passage, a tapered ta e up roll supported for rotation with the upper ortionO of its periphery arran edso as to e' horizontal y disposed at t e base of said passage at the weaving moment, gearing for operating the shuttle, and means for ad- Justing the reed transversely of said passage the direction of length of the take up ro 18. In a loom, a batten having a passage for the throw of the weft threads, a shuttle movable across said passage and provided said passage, pinions meshing with the teeth' of the rack bar and shuttle, a reed carried by the batten and dependin ,therefrom into said passage, a tapered ta e up roll supported for rotation upon an inclined axis so that the upper surface of its periphery will be horizontally disposed at the base of said passage at the weaving moment, and means for adjusting the reed transversely of the passage and in a direction longitudinally yof the take up roll.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FREDERIC G. HULME.

vwith rack teeth,'a rack bar disposed above 

